Petition for South Yorkshire and Northern England to join Scotland tops 5,000

Darren Burke

More than 5,000 people have signed a petition calling for the north of England to ‘secede from the UK and join Scotland’.

A total of 5,396 people have signed a petition on Change.org in support of the north of England joining Scotland and ‘regaining control over its own destiny’.

Despite being created a year ago, during the throes of the Scottish independence campaign, the petition attracted a number of signatures following the Conservative Party’s win in last week’s general election.

It adds weight to Doncaster - which is still technically part of Scotland - being returned to Caledonian control.

The petition states: “The deliberations in Westminster are becoming increasingly irrelevant to the north of England.

“The northern cities feel far greater affinity with their Scottish counterparts such as Glasgow and Edinburgh than with the ideologies of the London-centric south.

“The needs and challenges of the north cannot be understood by the endless parade of old Etonians lining the front benches of the House of Commons.

“We, the people of the north, demand that in the event that Scotland becomes independent the border between England and the New Scotland be drawn along a line that runs between the River Dee and the mouth of The Humber.”

The Border between a ‘new Scotland’ and England would see the cities of Sheffield, Hull, Liverpool, Leeds and Preston all join the newly-created country.

One signatory, from Macclesfield, wrote: “Increasingly Westminster appears to be asking the ordinary people of this country to bail the country out of the mess that they and their rich buddies in the financial quarter of the city created.

“I want out and want to join a more sensible equal country government - if I can’t be European I’ll be Scottish.”

Another supporter added: “I have more in common with the Scots, than the Etonian-led Southerners who do not care what happens in the North.”

One person pointed out that the petition could bring up the topic of increased Northern representation.

Despite being closed, the petition is still gathering signatures since last Thursday’s vote, partly thanks to the #TakeUsWithYouScotland hashtag on Twitter.

In 2012, local historians Peter Robinson and Charles Kelham unearthed evidence that Doncaster was under Scottish rule for 21 years from 1136 to 1157. But while the town was officially signed over between the kings of England and Scotland, it seems it was never formally handed back - meaning the town is actually part of Soctland.

The pair found that during the reign of King Stephen of England, King David I of Scotland conquered parts of northern England.

A peace treaty - The Treaty of Durham - was agreed in 1136 and Doncaster - but nowhere else in Yorkshire - was handed over to Scotland.

A second treaty three years later confirmed Scottish ownership but in 1157, Henry II of England simply took back areas lost to the Scots - but without any official paperwork to seal the deal.

Three years ago, a spokesman for the Scottish Nationalist Party said Doncaster would be greeted with open arms and added: “Doncaster is a fine town. If the people of Doncaster ever wanted to rejoin Scotland and benefit from all the good work of the SNP government, we would make them very welcome.”